Leave Me a Message
by CanaryCry
Summary: A brief lapse in Dick's memory leads to him trying to call Wally after he's been gone for three months. He didn't expect him to pick up. Post-endgame Birdflash.


**A/N: Inspired by a tumblr post written by sagestormashes about Wally icons, which tumblr user asterglow had made. Also, there are sexytimes in this fic but it's not ridiculously explicit. Wally's technically cheating on Artemis, so if that's not your thing, feel free to run away screaming.**

* * *

Dick had a habit of becoming so absorbed in his work that the rest of the world would just… fall away. It was a trait all the bats shared, and could both be a blessing and a curse. While being able to shut out the rest of the world could be useful when performing tasks that required intense concentration, it also had the side-effect of putting him into a state of mind that didn't always _quite_ keep up with current events.

There had been a time when Dick, newly arrived at the manor, had become so absorbed in performing on the trapeze Bruce had installed for him that he briefly forgot about what happened to his family. The comedown from that had not been pleasant. Incidents involving that particular memory had dropped sharply once he became Robin and helped Batman cart Tony Zucco off to prison, and most of his subsequent issues involved minor situations such as time passing or the last time he ate.

This time, Dick was on his computer in his apartment, trying in vain to track Wally for what had to be the hundredth time since repelling the Reach. His computer picked up on energy trails, mostly from the other speedsters, plus a few old ones from Wally. Stopping locations were denoted by dots. Wally would've hated that, just like he'd complained about Robin's hacking being boring, which had inspired him to make the silly Robin icons he had used in his hacking since.

Dick could hear Wally in his head now, saying, "Dude, those are so boring!"

Dots really were boring. _Bruce_ used dots, because he wasn't interested in putting in extra coding just to make something look cool. Dick preferred everything he worked with to have a little _flair_. The fact that he hadn't come up with something cooler than soulless, boring _dots_ was truly a travesty.

So Dick started making some Wally— well, more like Kid Flash—icons. It didn't take long for him to become totally immersed in his work. It also didn't take long for his work to become _ridiculously frustrating_ because Wally's hair was apparently impossible to get right, and he was so focused on fixing it that he didn't notice when the sun went down and left him in the dark with nothing but the computer screen's light. But he finally got it right enough at least and worked on the different colouring. By the time he was done, he had a red vibrating Kid Flash icon that would flick to a green, grinning Kid Flash when an action was complete.

Dick let out a whoop as let leapt out of his chair and snatched up his phone, hitting speed-dial without a single thought. He was so utterly delirious with excitement that he didn't even wait for the call to connect properly before he burst out:

"Dude! Dude! KF. DUDE! I just did the COOLEST THING—"

"Hey guys! It's Wally! Leave me a message—"

Dick froze, his mind finally catching up to his actions, as Wally's voicemail played out in his ear, because it was just him, alone in his dark bedroom with no company except for the little blinking Wally-lights on the computer screen. And that might just be how it was going to be for a long time.

Possibly forever.

Dick let his phone drop to the floor, collapsing back into his chair. The soft sound of the computer whirred in his ears and he lost himself in it, becoming nothing but a pair of ears, no thoughts, no grief, nothing. The phone fell silent; it must've hung up when he dropped it. Not that it mattered.

His ringtone cut through his focus. He dived for his phone, not looking at the caller ID or even bothering to catching himself before he landed in a heap on the carpet.

Wally's voice crackled in his ear. "Dude, what'd you hang up for?"

Dick's heart leapt into his throat. What—

"Dick? You there?" Wally said after Dick didn't respond. Dick, for his part, was busy trying to remember how to breathe. Was this real?

"Wally," he choked. "Is that... oh my God. Wally."

Wally chuckled. "That's my name. What's up?"

"_What's_ _up_?" Dick repeated incredulously. "What are you—what's the last thing you remember?"

"Uh..." Wally drew out the vowel. "We got home from crashing the Light's summit and Arty and I totally—"

"Wally," Dick said sharply, "I don't need the details. You're missing a huge chunk of your memory. Where are you?"

"I'm at the apartment in Palo Alto," Wally replied. "Why? What did I miss?"

Dick let out a long breath, begging his hands to stop shaking. "A lot, dude. Like you saving the world and then vanishing in front of everyone. We thought you were dead.""

Wally let out a yelp. "What do you—oh _man_."

"Calm down," Dick interrupted. "I'm at my apartment. How quickly can you get to Blüdhaven?"

Wally didn't bother responding and hung up instead. Dick cupped his phone in both of his hands—_stop shaking, god damn it_—and waited it out. He wasn't sure how much time passed when he finally heard a knock on the door and shouted for the visitor to enter.

Wally, still decked out in his sunny yellow suit, found him in his bedroom. "Oh, hey, Dick. What are you doing on the floor?"

Dick's laugh was closer to a bark, or a punch in the face, and he wasn't sure his legs would support him if he tried to get up.

Wally crouched down to his level, reaching out to touch his cheek. "How—how long was I gone?"

Dick closed his eyes, but a jolt of fear that Wally would disappear made him open them again. "Three months."

Wally's lips parted, barely visible in the dim light given off by the computer screen, and formed a perfect 'O'. Dick sensed more than saw his throat working in silence, and reached up to grasp the speedster's wrist.

"We've got to contact the League," he said quietly. Wally's mouth slowly shut as he nodded, leaned down and buried his face in Dick's neck, swearing softly. "But it can wait," Dick offered, tangling his fingers in that lovely orange hair.

"I... yeah," Wally said at last. "Thanks. Jesus Christ. I'm don't even..." He trailed off, wriggling further into Dick's personal space. Dick let him, even as his heart was collapsing in on itself.

"What about—what about Artemis?"

Wally shook his head. It felt wrong, snuggling up in the dark like this, when the guy's own girlfriend didn't have a clue he was okay. Dick let his head rest on top of Wally's, mentally chanting _he's taken, he's taken, he's taken_.

Something wet touched Dick's neck, startling him. "Dude, are you licking me or crying?"

"Shut up," Wally said thickly, drawing in a shuddering breath. Crying it is. "What the hell do I do?"

"Shh," Dick replied, wrapping his arms tightly around him. "You're going to stay here tonight. In the morning, I'll call Batman and we'll deal with this. Okay?"

Wally lifted his head, the computer light catching the liquid on his cheeks and in his eyes. "Okay."

Dick totally didn't expect the feeling of something soft on his cheek, like lips. Well, not _like_ lips, since they actually were lips. Wally's lips.

"Wally," Dick said sternly.

"Shut up," Wally repeated. "Please." Dick shut up, inwardly growling at his heart to quit dancing because this didn't mean anything. Wally was just freaking out and Dick was the only person around to comfort him. The feeling of soft lips on his own successfully shut up him inner protestations as well.

Dick sighed into the kiss and Wally sighed back. When did the speedster end up in his lap? Dick's heart was kicking his conscience's ass right now. Well, it isn't like _he_ initiated this, right? And if Wally regretted it in the morning they could both just pretend it didn't happen. Just go back to being best friends. Dick could go back to loving Wally silently and alone. Dick stopped thinking before he made himself cry as well. It was bad enough that one of them was in tears. He didn't think either of them could handle another.

Time shattered as the two boys clawed at each other, nipping at each other's lips and laughing softly into their mouths. Dick decided he wouldn't initiate anything—it all has to be Wally. That was the only way he could be okay with this. Wally dragged him upright, the acrobat's long-forgotten phone clattering to the floor again. Dick let Wally shove him down onto the bed, divested of his shirt. Wally pressed against him, also shirtless, his breaths coming in pants.

Dick put a hand to Wally's chest to slow him down. "Dude. Where are we going with this?"

Wally groaned softly, dragging his teeth along Dick's jugular. Dick let out a high-pitched moan that would embarrass him if it were anyone else hovering above him.

"Wally, Wally, seriously. I don't want to take advantage of you."

"You're not," Wally replied, pressing a kiss to the pulse point below Dick's jaw.

"But, Artemis..." Wally shushed him with another kiss. Artemis was going to murder him, Dick thought, but he was surprisingly okay with that right now. He was no blushing virgin and he knew he had a bit of a reputation—which was only partly warranted, thank you very much—but he had never been a proponent of cheating. Then again, he'd never been in this position with Wally before. Ah, to hell with it. He'd deal with the consequences in the morning.

Wally trailed kisses down Dick's chest, down his stomach, and nipped at his hipbone. Dick could barely make out his expression in the dark, but at least he isn't crying anymore. That would make things a hell of a lot worse.

"I love you, Wally," Dick said quietly, brushing the speedster's fringe aside. Wally offered him a smile as he unzipped Dick's jeans.

"You should've told me that years ago, Dumbass Wonder."

Dick's laugh quickly pitched upwards as Wally palmed his growing erection through his briefs, before sliding his jeans down to his ankles. Wally managed to remove his own while Dick was distracted, making Dick surge with pride that his high-speed fine motor skills were still improving.

"You got any, uh, supplies?" asked Wally.

"No lube," Dick replied. "Sorry."

Wally grinned at him, his teeth glinting in the dim, bluish light, and climbed back up to press his lips against the man beneath him again. Their bodies intertwined, their eyes slid shut. Dick gasped as Wally rolled his hips against his own, and the speedster instantly reclaimed his lips.

This closeness—the sensation of skin against skin, lips against lips, breathing shared air—Dick had long ago accepted he would never have this with Wally. God, this felt like some vivid dream, like the ones Dick used to have after exposure to Ivy's creepy pheromones. His stomach lurched at the thought of waking up to find none of this is real, that Wally was still dead, that Dick was still alone, and it shook him to his core.

It had shaken him so much that Wally noticed and pulled back. "Dick?"

"I'm fine," Dick lied, but the tremor in his voice gave him away. The smile had vanished from Wally's face, but Dick drank in his features anyway. If this wasn't real, he wanted to remember every detail anyway. God knows it was the only way he's going to get through the rest of his life without him.

Wally cupped his cheek, his eyes gentle. "What is it? Am I being too pushy?"

"No!" Dick said quickly. "No. I just…" He was _not_ going to cry. "I missed you, that's all. Please." He propped himself up on his elbows. "Touch me."

Wally obliged and Dick let himself get lost in the little sensations, the feel of Wally's lips on his, his breath on his skin, his hands sliding down his hips and below the waistband of his briefs. Dick bucked into the hand that wrapped around him, biting down on Wally's lower lip hard enough to draw blood. Dick gasped words into the speedster's skin, some in English, some in other languages, all with the same meaning. Wally never repeated them, but Dick could live with that. He had to.

While Wally couldn't reciprocate verbally, Dick was more than able to do so physically, pulling down Wally's briefs—he usually wore boxers as a civilian, but never when in uniform—and touching and squeezing and pulling in just the right way to make Wally bite into the acrobat's shoulder.

They came together like that, Dick shouting his feelings all over again while Wally's breathing stuttered and he let out a long, drawn out curse before collapsing on top of him.

Dick smiled, revelling in the boneless languor and Wally's warm and comforting weight. He whispered his love into Wally's hair—there was not a place on Wally's body that hadn't received it—and was no longer afraid of closing his eyes.

The morning would bring questions and people—it would bring Artemis—but that was okay. They had one night together. That was more than he'd ever had a right to hope for. Wally was real. He had to be. Dick had his best friend back, the man he loved, and he was willing to be happy with that, even if they'd never be anything more. After three months without Wally, he was willing to take anything.


End file.
